User blog:Cfp3157/Brief Return from Retirement: Raiden vs. Batman Beyond
Technology is the definition of the future, promising innovation, progress, and prosperity for all mankind. But it is also a potential bane, a weapon used to control the weak and prevent good. But none have risen to the threats of the future like Raiden, the former child soldier turned cyborg swordsman that seeks to right past wrongs by protecting the weak, and Batman, the vigilante successor of the original Batman who protects a new Gotham City from a host of new and classic villains! Two different brands of brutal justice will lash out during this flurry of fists. Walking arsenals and master combatants, only one can be...THE DEADLIEST WARRIOR! Raiden Raised in Liberia as a child soldier by Solidus Snake, Raiden was taught to enjoy to kill through a variety of high-tech training missions, action movies, and gunpowder mixed with food. Solidus taught Raiden that wielding a blade was much more noble and worthy than a gun by forcing Raiden to use a sword to kill enemies and innocents, deeply traumatizing him in the process and earning him the nickname Jack the Ripper. After leaving Liberia for America, Raiden was injected with nanomachines and joined the newly reformed FOXHOUND, where he met his future wife Rosemary. In the year 2000, Raiden become involved in the Big Shell incident, where he (alongside Solid Snake) combated the Patriots and their mass produced Metal Gears, and did battle with and killed Solidus after a brutal sword battle. After the incident, Raiden was kidnaped and turned into a cyborg by the Patriots, which ironically enabled Raiden to assist a dying Solid Snake in ending the Patriots, even though saving Snake from his brother Liquid initially cost him his arms. After the fall of the Patriots, Raiden led the PMC group Maverick on numerous missions, the last of which involved him stopping Steven Armstrong from starting a war with Pakistan to get himself elected president so he could create a Social Darwinist dystopia. Equipment: *'High-Frequency Blade:' The High-Frequency blade is a blade reinforced by a powerful alternating current that resonates at extremely high frequencies, making it so that the blade can take things apart at a molecular level. The blade is created from a near indestructible material, slicing through several layers of concrete, helicopters, and robots with unimaginable ease. Abilities: *'Enhanced Physical Condition:' Given his almost entirely cybernetic body, Raiden's strength, speed, reflexes, agility, and durability have been enhanced to superhuman levels. His reflexes and speed not only allow him to dodge bullets, but actually run and block them with his sword as long as he continues moving, as well as run up a skyscraper. His strength allows him to go toe-to-toe with Metal Gears, as well as lift one with difficulty. His entire body is cybernetic, which means he can take much more damage than any human could, such as sword strikes and superhuman blows. *'Master Swordsman:' Raiden is an astoundingly skilled swordsman, combining his cybernetic enhancements with pure skill to become nearly peerless as a swordsman. Even prior to his cybernetic enhancements, Raiden was skilled enough to defeat professional opponents armed with automatic firearms utilizing only his sword. He is also skilled enough to wield his sword with his feet and even in his mouth, and fighting with either hand as his dominant. *'Blade Mode:' Using molten carbonite fuel cells as a power source, Blade Mode heightens Raiden's reflexes to the point where the world around him is going in slow motion, and also strengthens his CT muscle fiber to increase the power behind his blows, enabling to him to effortlessly cut any person or thing in half. *'Expert Assassin:' Trained vigorously since childhood, Raiden is a highly skilled assassin and killer. Raiden is an expert infiltrator and escape artist, as well as vicious hand-to-hand combatant and stealth expert. Raiden was able to almost single-handedly diffuse the Big Shell incident, killing Solidus Snake after an intense battle with his troops. *'Skilled Acrobat:' In addition to his skills as an assassin, Raiden is a particularly skilled acrobat. Combing his enhanced physicality with his natural skills, he is able to climb buildings and traverse through a collapsing building with ease. His reflexes and acrobatic skills allow him to either dodge or even deflect fire from heavy machine guns and rockets. *'"Jack the Ripper":' By channeling his anger and turning off his pain inhibitors, Raiden can access his "Jack the Ripper" persona. While in this state of mind, Raiden is significantly more brutal and vicious in his approach to combat, with his sword strikes often hitting far harder and faster than in his normal state of mind. Batman Born to scientists Warren and Mary McGinnis, Terry McGinnis was a rough street kid who would grow to become one of Gotham's greatest heroes. Years after Batman is last seen, he is a former member of a street gang run by youthful racketeer Charlie "Big Time" Bigelow, Terry had his fair share of run-ins with the Gotham City Police at age fourteen while his parents were going through a divorce, even serving a three-month stint in juvenile hall. When Terry's father was murdered after being caught up in a buissness affair over nerve gas, Terry's life would change forever. Feeling responsible for his father's death and eager for revenge, Terry met billionaire and original Batman Bruce Wayne and began to utilise his highly modern Batsuit. Once Terry brought the man who murdered his father, Terry began to sort out evil on the streets of Gotham as the Batman once did. Convinced that there is still a need for a Batman, Bruce hires Terry as his "personal assistant" and begins secretly training him for his new role as Gotham's Dark Knight. As Gotham's newest hero, Terry fought against a wide variety of new and eccentric villains, while also dealing with characters from Batman's past like the Joker, Amanda Waller, and even a mind controlled incarnation of the Justice League. Equipment: *'Batsuit:' The Batsuit Terry wears has received several improvements compared to the original. It enhances his strength and durability, allowing him to lift steel beams and survive plane crashes, lasers, and grenades. The suit has several utility functions, such as visual cloaking, rocket thrusters that enable temporary flight, adhesive padding, Detective vision, an electrical discharge that can discharge through one part of his body or his entire suit, and a direct communication link to the Batcave. The suit is equipped with retractable claws, capable of slicing through metal with ease, and retractable forearm spikes that can be used mid-combat to gain a range advantage. *'Batarangs:' Batman carries a wide variety of projectiles with him, ranging from typical Batarangs to several variations such as electrical, explosive, and sonic emitters. He also has a disc-launcher built into his suit, as well as bolas. *'Bombs:' Batman carries a wide variety of explosives, primarily smoke pellets and flash grenades. *'Gadgets:' Batman's utility belt comes equipped with a variety of extra tools he may need. These range from a buzzsaw he uses in combat or to hack through walls, to a wrist-mounted laser to tracers, handcuffs, and a grappel gun. Abilities: *'Expert Hand-to-Hand Combatant:' Trained both by Bruce Wayne and later Wayne's own sensei Kairi Tanaga, Batman is skilled hand-to-hand combatant. Skilled in basic street fighting even before his career as Batman began, McGinnis relies on his natural agility, skill, and intuition in combat, giving a fluidity and unorthodox style in comparison to the formal skills of the previous Batman. *'Peak Human Physical Condition:' Even without the aid of his Batsuit, Terry is a n Olympic-level athlete with peak human strength, agility, stamina, and endurance. His most notable attribute is his agility, often being compared to the original Robin Dick Grayson in his abilities as an acrobat. *'Skilled Detective:' Studying under Bruce Wayne both in the field and the Batman's old case files, Batman's mind has become intelligent and intuitive, oftentimes even surprising Bruce Wayne with his ability to process and adapt information. Notably, the Joker has credited Terry with being able to think outside the box in a way that made him a more difficult foe to deal with than the original Batman. *'Expert Infiltrator:' With aid both from his skills learned from Bruce Wayne and the stealth capabilities of his Batsuit, Batman is highly skilled in stealth and infiltration. His ability to think on his feet, as well as cloaking and flight, makes him a difficult foe to pin down should he be given the opportunity to evade his foes. Notes *Full votes require well-written edges OR a detailed explanation of at least ten sentences. *Half-votes are the previously mentioned requirements sans the "well-written". *Votes with little to no reason, bias, or irrelevant information will not count at all. *''All votes must contain proper grammar and spelling.'' *These requirements are abstract; I reserve the right to count or discount votes depending on their individual merit. *In case it was not clear in the descriptions of the warriors, Terry will have his communications link to the Bat Cave and Bruce Wayne. *Time to address the elephant in the room; this is not a permanent return. This was just a match I always wanted to do, and it is likely that this will be my last match. This is not a return from retirement, but finishing up old business. The chances of being coming back actively, or even semi-actively, are not impossible but certainly dismal. Battle Rapidly tapping away on his keyboard, Gotham City District Attorney Clyde Dent took a brief glance at the clock on the wall. 11:55 it read, just five minutes before midnight. Maybe I can actually get away with-'' Dent's frantic train of thought was slowed when he noticed a man's shadow on his desk. His thoughts were stopped altogether when a firm hand slammed his face into it. He stumbled up, nose broken and streaming blood, as he drew the pistol from his coat. Terry McGinnis, better known throughout Gotham City as the Batman, threw a batarang at the corrupt politician's gun as it fired. It easily sliced down the middle of the barrel, before cutting into Dent's hand. Instinctively grabbing his now bleeding hand, Dent could barely react as Batman slammed his fist into Dent's nose. Careening backwards and unconscious, Dent slammed into his coffee table with a resounding crash. "Alright sir- Dent's down. Collecting the files now." From the Batcave, the elderly Bruce Wayne grumbled in approval. "Good work, Terry. Dent's the worst thing his uncle could've imagined. He's got all of Harvey's brains, but none of his morals." "Depending on which Harvey, that's probably a good thing." Just as Batman finished downloading the years worth of bribes and blackmail, the door to Dent's office crashed open. Batman threw another batarang, but a sword struck out and swatted it aside. Raiden emerged, his High Frequency Blade already drawn. The cyborg leaped forward with a diagonal slash, aiming for the vigilante's left shoulder. Batman triggered the spikes on his forearm, and raised them to catch the blade and parry the sword strike. Raiden's sword easily sliced through the spikes though, breaking one of them off while Batman tried to guide the strike away. Batman countered with a quick haymaker, only for his fist to be caught by Raiden. Raiden twisted Batman's arm, who grunted in pain. His opponent triggered his jets, flying away to gain distance. The cyborg easily kept up in the small office face, shoulder slamming into the flying vigilante. He followed with another sword strike, this time going low to take out his jets. Batman flipped backwards to avoid it, and threw a bolo to try and trap Raiden. The bolos wrapped Raiden's hands together, but no sooner than they slowed down did he rip them apart with ease. He resumed his attack, a vertical slash aimed at Terry's head. He was met with more resistance as Terry raised his forearm spikes of both arms, trapping the sword this time. Batman then launched the pair forward, flying into and through several walls. Standing up to collect himself, Terry recoiled as Raiden stood up unfazed. Tossing a smoke grenade to cover his escape, the vigilante started to backpedal away. "Boss, who the hell is this guy?" "Be careful with this one, Terry. His name is Raiden- a mercenary employed by the PMC Maverick. Most of his history is blacked out, to the point even Waller and A.R.G.U.S. don't have much on him. Her personal records seem to indicate his involvement in the World Marshall Incident back in 2018, as well as Guns of the Patriots in 2014. He's dangerous, Terry. Do you have the files?" "Yeah, let me just-" "No. We have what we need on Dent, get out of there." Terry grumbled, but obeyed as he started to fly back outside. However, as he turned around he was tackled by Raiden, who had sheathed his sword now. Both were sent crashing through the office's skylight windows, and plummeting down from the Gotham skyscraper. Freefalling, Terry could barely counter as Raiden began a swift series of punches and kicks. His strength was incalculable, the cyborg's fists hitting him like freight trains. Raiden finished his assault with slamming both feet into Batman's chest. Using the vigilante as a springboard, Raiden launched himself backwards and, sword drawn, slammed into the side of the building. The High Frequency blade sent chunks of asbestos, steel, and glass shattering down, but eventually held as Raiden clung to the side. No sooner than he'd stopped to take a breath did Raiden instinctively cover his head as Batman flew past him, flying up to the top of the building. "You've got to be shitting me!" Raiden growled, before slinging himself upward to chase Batman. His cybernetic legs clawed into the building's side, propelling him upward on sheer strength and speed alone. Raiden looked up to see Batman looking at him in awe, before chucking several more batarangs at the cyborg. Slicing his sword forward, he deflected them all and just managed to catch up to Batman as they reached the roof. Raiden grabbed Terry's leg, jumping over the edge and slamming him down back to the ground. Terry barely started to stand before Raiden leaped again, this time thrusting right for his chest. Batman dropped a flashbang down, temporarily disorienting them both, and he reached out to grab the cyborg. They both fell back onto the ground, and Raiden's sword finally left his grasp. Seizing his chance, Terry took out his handcuffs and slapped them onto Raiden's hands. "Pfft, try getting out of those things." Batman cockily said, starting to stand up. Raiden struggled for a moment, before standing up right away. All he did was laugh, madly, and his eyes turned red. Before Batman could quite grasp what happened, Jack the Ripper slammed his knee into Batman's groin. Heaving and doubling over, Batman barely countered as Jack let loose a roundhouse kick into his exposed head. Flying to the side, Terry struggled for breath and control. Rising up to his knees, Batman mustered up the strength only to be forced back down by Jack's vicious headbutt. Now on his stomach and barely conscious, Batman felt Raiden's handcuffed hands grab him by the back of the head. The cyborg didn't hold back, ripping off the cowl of his costume to expose a bloody, bruised Terry McGinnis. He slammed the battered youth's head into the ground twice. Barely breathing and barely awake, Terry struggled all the same as Raiden, hands still in handcuffs, wrapped around his neck. As his opponent choked and uselessly struggled against his steel grip, Jack the Ripper let out a final psychotic laugh as he broke Terry's neck. In an instant, Raiden looked down in immediate regret as he accomplished what criminals had been trying to do for the last forty years; he had killed the Batman. He then looked down at his handcuffed hands. Trying to break them open, Raiden grunted in surprise as the cuffs held firm. "Well shit, now what?" '''WINNER: RAIDEN' Expert's Opinion While Batman Beyond had a large arsenal of tools and skills at his disposal, it was little surprise that he lost compared to Raiden's strength, skill, and savagery. The High Frequency Blade quite literally sliced through everything Batman had, while the vigilante had nothing to pin down Raiden in response for longer than brief seconds. Category:Blog posts